Authors: Bruce Feldman, Antonio Morales, and Ralph Russell
UCF inquired about the availability of USC coach Lincoln Riley as it searches for Gus Malzahn’s replacement, three people familiar with the matter said. Competitor Wednesday.
There is no indication Riley is interested in taking such action, people familiar with the matter said. His 10-year deal is reportedly three seasons in and will pay him around $10 million per year.
people talked about Competitor The request for anonymity is because all discussions are private and UCF has not publicly disclosed details of its coaching search.
Riley’s contract is not public because USC is a private school, but if he wants to leave, expelling him from USC could cost tens of millions for the Trojans or the school that wants to hire him Dollar.
Representatives from the University of Central Florida contacted Riley’s representatives over the weekend to ask if he would be interested in taking action nationally, a source said. Any discussions about adjusting the terms of Riley’s contract will be between him and USC, sources said.
The first source added that UCF has not received any word from Riley’s camp that he is interested in leaving USC, and the school is still looking for multiple candidates to fill its head coaching vacancy.
According to one source, firing Riley, whose win total has declined in each of his three seasons with the Trojans, will cost USC about $90 million. Riley wouldn’t owe USC anything if he went to another school. But UCF couldn’t replicate the trade Riley had at USC. Malzahn will make $4 million in 2024 at UCF.
Even if Riley were interested in making the move, two sources said, it would require some payment from his current deal with USC to make up for what he would be giving up in the interim — much like a professional sports deal. In , one team pays a large fee a portion of a player’s remaining salary on a large contract, and the receiving team receives the remainder.
Riley was hired at USC by former athletic director Mike Bohn, who resigned amid controversy in the spring of 2023. , and will retire this summer, which means the two major parties involved in bringing Riley to USC will be gone.
Former Washington State athletic director Jen Cohen was hired in August 2023 to lead the athletic department. She inherited Riley’s contract with him.
She was in an unenviable position, as her soccer program was underperforming but the coaching fees were too high to leave. This spring, Cohen dealt with a delicate situation with men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield, whose tenure was over but whose track record was too good to warrant firing. He eventually accepted the SMU position, and Cohen hired Eric Musselman from Arkansas to replace him.
Even if Riley has suitors, getting rid of him looks more difficult.
Malzahn left the University of Central Florida after four seasons as head coach to become offensive coordinator at Florida State University. After transferring from the American Athletic Conference, the Cavaliers went 10-15 overall and 5-13 in the league in their first two seasons in the Big 12. UCF received only a partial share of Big 12 revenue last year, about $18 million, and is scheduled to receive about $19 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
By 2025-26, this will jump to a full share, roughly double these figures.
Riley is 25-14 at USC since being lured to Los Angeles from Oklahoma State following the 2021 regular season. It was a shock move for the Trojans, who took away Norman’s coach who had a 55-10 record, as well as two Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
In Riley’s first season, the Trojans went 11-3 under another Heisman winner, Caleb Williams, a star quarterback who followed the coach from Oklahoma. Massachusetts came to USC. But since then, the results have been going in the wrong direction.
In 2023, USC went 8-5 in its final season in the Pac-12 and finished its first regular season in the Big Ten with a 6-6 overall record (4-5 in league play) race.
After the 2023 season, Riley told Competitor He’s “not here (at USC) for some short-term thing, and as long as USC continues to provide us with support and what we need to continue to build, it’s not a two-year rebuild.”
Recruiting has not lived up to the high expectations that came with Riley’s hiring. USC’s on-field performance has declined each season, and the program doesn’t appear to have much of a way forward, making Riley’s prospects murky at best.
(Photo: Sean M. Hafey/Getty Images)
